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Maria Benedita de Castro Canto e Melo

São Paulo, 18 Dec 1792 – Rio de Janeiro, 5 Mar 1857

8 facts2 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 18 Dec 1792

    Born in São Paulo

  2. 4 Nov 1823

    A son is born

  3. 5 Mar 1857

    Dies in Rio de Janeiro, aged 64

Family

See the tree

Parents

Children · 1

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around São Paulo.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1790s · Maria is born in São Paulo

Who governed

News and letters

Irregular mail ship schedules from Lisbon

A royal charter in 1798 aimed to send mail ships from Lisbon to Portuguese America every two months, but this frequency was rarely achieved due to delays and cancellations.

What it cost

Regulated price of bread

Bread prices were regulated in Rio Grande, with a unit weighing 0.575 kilograms costing a constant 40 réis between 1792 and 1803.

The first vaccine. Edward Jenner showed that cowpox protects against smallpox: the first vaccine, against a disease that killed millions.Around the world · 1796–1798

The first vaccine. Edward Jenner showed that cowpox protects against smallpox: the first vaccine, against a disease that killed millions.

John Raphael Smith · public domain

What it cost

Wages and subsistence costs

In Rio de Janeiro, daily wages for laborers rose from 120 réis to 320 réis between 1765 and 1821, while in Recife, the daily cost to sustain an enslaved person was 120 réis.

News and letters

Weight-based postal rates introduced in 1798

Postal rates in 1798 were calculated based on the weight of letters, with a base rate for letters weighing up to four oitavas and an additional charge of 40 réis for every two oitavas over the limit.